With a political push and a funding boost, there have been great strides made in the fight against malaria. The WHO estimates these efforts have saved 3.3 million lives since 2000. Incidence of the disease, which is primarily spread by mosquitos, has dropped 25% worldwide and 31% in Africa alone. But it continues to be widespread: there are still an estimated 200 million cases each year, 627,000 of which are fatal.

Several attendees at a food safety convention in Baltimore later complained of symptoms consistent with food poisoning. (Photo: Tom Wang/Fotolia.com)

Talk about cruel irony. Attendees of the recent Food Safety Summit in Baltimore, MD, reported getting sick with symptoms consistent with food poisoning. A Baltimore City Health Department spokesperson says they received four calls from people complaining of diarrhea, upset stomach and other related symptoms in the 12 hours after attending the event at the Baltimore Convention Center on April 9. Thankfully, no serious illnesses have been reported.

An initial Health Department investigation turned up no food safety violations other than excess condensation dripping from an ice machine – which wasn’t believed to have anything to do with the illnesses. However, the Food Safety Summit’s education director, Amy Riemer, confirmed that event organizers will continue to work with the Health Department as they conduct their investigation.

Do you feel you get enough face time with your doctor? (Photo: pkchai/Fotolia.com)

Think about your last checkup. Did you feel like you had enough face time with your doctor? These days, it’s fairly typical for primary care physicians to slot their patients into 15-minute time slots – which when you factor in the time it takes before they actually enter the examination room, can be even shorter.

According to this story from PBS, it has a lot to do with the fee structure: family doctors in the US are paid by the visit, and so are encouraged to cram more patients into their schedules. According to Dr. Richard J. Baron, president of the American Board of Internal Medicine, it can lead to a “struggle of control” between doctors and patients. Sometimes patients fight to keep their doctors’ attention by bringing lists of complaints to the appointment. And in one case, a patient objected to a doctor’s request to include a student in the room: it was her annual physical, and she wanted his undivided attention.

Perhaps this isn’t a surprise to very many people. But the Cleveland Clinic has weighed in on a few of our favourite fast-food lunch choices. And what it’s saying isn’t exactly what any of us want to hear. In particular, they’ve pointed out five foods we should avoid – or at least think twice about when ordering on the run.

What are they? Pizza, particularly for its sky-high sodium content; burgers and fries, a calorie-heavy combo that if eaten frequently can lead to long-term health problems; cold cut sandwiches, which are high in sodium, as well as carcinogenic nitrates and nitrites; hot dogs, which are bad for reasons similar to cold cuts; and fried chicken, which is loaded with fat and an enormous amount of sodium. Hate to say this, but “just a salad” is sounding pretty good right now.